A glitzy prize giving ceremony wrapped up the Joburg Ladies Open Pro-Am on Tuesday, 28 February, with amateurs and professionals earning the spoils for their spirited performances in the sweltering heat on the 18-hole Modderfontein Golf Club.
Johanna Gustavsson of Sweden, who has achieved remarkable success on both the European and LPGA Tours, and Klára Spilková of the Czech Republic, who won the 2017 Lalla Meryem Cup and the 2022 Women’s Irish Open, as well as their amateur teammates Paulette McGhee, Kerry Lawrie, and Amy Fusedale, clinched overall victory in the Joburg Ladies Open Pro-Am with a total of 95 points.
Second place went to professionals Casandra Alexander and Nadia van der Westhuizen and their team of Bongi Mokaba, Sanah Gumede, and Kgomotso Ndungane, who won with 90 points.
Professionals Michele Thomson and Alice Hewson, along with their teammates Bongi Shabalala, Laetitia Roestoff, and Ashley Mametse, finished third overall with 85 points.
Kgomotso Ndungane won nearest to the pin for hole three (3), Naomi Molepo claimed nearest to the pin for hole nine (9), and Roestoff and Ruth Mokgatle won nearest to the pin for holes 11 and 14, respectively.
Professional golfer Carmen Alonso won the longest drive for hole eight (8), and amateur Roestoff secured another win for the longest drive for hole 13.
Mokaba, the City’s Director of Event Management says golfers enjoyed the day despite the heat.
“Everybody played for a purpose. It was a mix of amateurs and professionals. For the first time, we flipped the script. One pro played the front nine, and when we turned, a second pro joined. It allowed a number of professionals to play,” she added.
The City’s Executive Mayor, Cllr Thapelo Amad, said it was a privilege and an honour for the municipality to play a role in the growth and promotion of the sport of golf, especially among women.
“Hosting world-class events like the Joburg Ladies Open showcases the City’s readiness to do business with the world. As the economic hub of the country, this is a timely boost for our economy,” said the Executive Mayor.
Cllr Amad thanked tournament sponsors and partners for their commitment to ensuring a successful tournament.
“Your continued support over the years is a testament and a clear indication of how public-private partnerships can yield better results in delivering major programmes,” he said during the prize giving ceremony.
The Joburg Ladies Open Pro-Am teed-off at the Modderfontein Golf Club, east of Johannesburg, as a prelude to the International Golf Tournament of the same name, which tees-off between Wednesday, 1 March and Saturday, 4 March 2023.
The invite only Pro-Am format was a four ball alliance with two scores to count on all holes. It established a platform for amateurs and professionals to compete against one another, providing amateurs with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play alongside two professional golfers. Amateurs began with one professional on the tee box, and by the ninth hole, another golfer had joined their team until the end.
Follow the Joburg Ladies Open action on the City’s social media pages: @CityofJoburgZA on Twitter, City of Johannesburg on Facebook, and @CityofJoburg on Instagram. Joburg Open pages can be followed on Twitter @JoburgOpen_ and Instagram and Facebook @JoburgOpen.
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